On July 7, 1963, twenty-six people gathered in the new chapel of St. Philip Lutheran Church located at 8850 Davona Drive, Dublin, CA. Through the years God has most certainly been with the faithful of St. Philip providing workers for the church. St. Philip has always been an active, mobile church and there isn’t a day that we do not have visitors moving into the area look for a new church home. We offer the hand of friendship and welcome them into God’s house. We hope you enjoy a brief tour of our past and come rejoice with us as we look to the future in the service of our Heavenly Father. Welcome to St. Philip Lutheran Church and School.

The California-Nevada-Hawaii District purchased 5.5 acres at the corner of Alcosta Blvd. and Davona Drive in Dublin in 1960 for $55,000. In late 1962 construction was begun on the first unit (today’s Remmert Hall and Pre-school/Office wing) for $65,000. With significant help from the Church Extension Fund, in 1964 the congregation bought the house on Interlachen Avenue, San Ramon, which still serves as the parsonage, for $22,950.

June 30, 1963: Pastor Koberg was commissioned as missionary-at-large for the San Ramon Village area.

July 7, 1963: The first service was held at St. Philip. Twenty-six people attended, including the Wagners, Stormy Knight and family, Ketchums, and the Kobergs. The offering was twenty-four dollars and some change. A week later the first Vacation Bible School was held.

St. Philip was officially organized as a congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod on March 15, 1964. There were 34 charter members. John Bentz, John Bauer, and Bud Anderson were instrumental in writing the first constitution.

In 1967 the congregation went to two Sunday Services with an appreciable increase in attendance. In 1968 the congregation undertook a building program – a parish hall for large gatherings at a cost of $32,000. That “parish hall” is now the kindergarten and first grade school classrooms. (And the debt with the Church Extension Fund was continuing to grow!).

After nearly ten years of substantial financial support from the District, St. Philip chose to go self-supporting in 1972. In 1974 pews, carpeting, and new fixtures hand-made by the women of the congregation were installed. Pastor Koberg’s office was remodeled in 1976 and a new Allen digital organ (which still serves the congregation) was dedicated the following year.

Staff positions of Church Secretary and Director of Music/Church Organist were established in 1979. Doretta Thomsen, who had served as a volunteer secretary, was hired and still serves St. Philip in this capacity. Barbara Silzer currently serves as the Director of Music/Church Organist.

Over the years various programs have been added to the congregation’s menu: Bethel Bible Series, Kennedy Evangelism, Pony Express Stewardship programs, Lifelight Bible Study, Stephen Ministry, etc. Common to most them was the concept of “training the saints for the work of the ministry.”

In 1981, St. Philip joined with four other Lutheran congregations in the valley to form Valley Lutheran Education Association to operate a parochial school on the campus of Trinity Lutheran Church in Walnut Creek. In 1984 a second campus was opened at St. Philip with 51 students; later a campus was also opened at First Lutheran Church in Concord. In 1992 the Association voted to disband due to financial reasons, but St. Philip voted to make the school on our campus a permanent part of our ministry. Several years ago it expanded to add a middle school. Over the years of its existence the school has been served by three principals: Hank Aschbrenner, Dan Spiva, and Bette Stark, the current principal.

October 5, 1981: The congregation began construction of a new sanctuary. The back 2.8 acres (where Coral Gate Townhouses are now) were sold to make such a venture possible. The asking price was $180,000 and we had two bona fide offers the next day. Several years later, before construction began on the property, Pastor was asked to find out how much it would cost to get it back as we could use the room for the school. The asking price then was $1.2 million! The new sanctuary was dedicated on August 15, 1982, even though electrical power was not turned on until October. We survived with available light and long, long extension cords.

In 1984 the carillon bells were dedicated. They were a gift from Al and Dorothy Bangert in memory of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Fuss and Rev. and Mrs. Fred Bangert.

Pastor asked for and was granted a six-month sabbatical leave in 1986 for travel in Turkey and Egypt, an archaeological dig in Israel, a month summer season at Oxford, England, and a month of study of modern Greek and Byzantine history in Thessalonica, Greece. It was at that time that the congregation added the first Associate Pastor to the staff. He was followed by two others. Prior to that time the congregation engaged the services of a DCE, a full-time paid secretary, and a paid organist/choir director. In 1998 the congregation entered into the vicarage program and has hosted seven vicars.

In 1988 the congregation celebrated its 25th anniversary on July 10th with special services, a meal, two concerts, and a new pictorial directory.

Facility needs continued because of congregational programs and the school, an din 1993 we dedicated the Fellowship Hall/Gymnasium/Classroom structure. Words heard soon after we began to use it were: “How did we ever get along without it?” By that time our debt with the extension Fund had grown to $580,000. When some people began to calculate how much interested we were paying on that debt, an aggressive program to retire the debt was undertaken. Conquer the Mountain was initiated and the debt was paid of in three years –“None in ’01!”

The council and various committees made some financial plans for St. Philip’s future, deciding that $70,000 included in each year’s budget as debt repayment should not just be dribbled away once the debt was paid off. It was determined that the amount should be retained in the budget with part of it dedicated to facilities improvement and a portion envisioned as a kind of charismatic, energetic Program Director who would work in the areas of Evangelism, Youth, and Education. This will necessitate finding additional office space. There are some ideas on the drawing board and that is where we are now.

St. Philip can proudly point to the fact that a number of people from the congregation have entered the parish ministry over the years: Bill Martens, Alan Wolkenhauer, Phyllis Faaborg Wolkenhauer, Mark Wolkenhauer, Jim Harrington, and Terry Chan.